Beto O’Rourke is a 2020 presidential hopeful, and just last November was almost a Texas Senator. O’Rourke lost the election to Ted Cruz, 50.9% to 48.3%. A loss for a Democrat was not unprecedented, in fact, it was actually expected. But just how close O’Rourke was to winning made headlines.
“Running With Beto” is a candid look at the some 200 days leading up to the aforementioned midterm election and O’Rourke’s campaign to unseat Ted Cruz in the U.S. Senate.
The campaign was one of many grassroots to pop up during the “blue wave” of 2018. People like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin; all of whom are featured in another documentary that was just released at the beginning of the month, are all faces of this movement. But, where AOC was facing an incumbent Democrat, O’Rourke was against a Republican. In a state that has been historically Republican for fifty plus years.
This documentary chose to not only focus on the man running for office, but also all the people working to make his campaign possible in the first place. From former Republicans, to teenagers, twenty-somethings, and the elderly. Something truly unique to see in these one-off inspirational stories.
The most expected aspect of this are the topics of interest: guns and the border. The section where O’Rourke visits the border is one of the most impactful parts of the entire film. Hearing about families being separated from each other is still horrific, even months on, and the rhetoric being spewed at asylum speakers is nothing short of devastating.
Overall, this is a grim, solid companion piece to one of the most unexpected elections in modern history, right next to the 2016 presidential election.
Beto O’Rourke is a 2020 presidential hopeful, and just last November was almost a Texas Senator. O’Rourke lost the election to Ted Cruz, 50.9% to 48.3%. A loss for a Democrat was not unprecedented, in fact, it was actually expected. But just how close O’Rourke was to winning made headlines.
“Running With Beto” is a candid look at the some 200 days leading up to the aforementioned midterm election and O’Rourke’s campaign to unseat Ted Cruz in the U.S. Senate.
The campaign was one of many grassroots to pop up during the “blue wave” of 2018. People like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, and Paula Jean Swearengin; all of whom are featured in another documentary that was just released at the beginning of the month, are all faces of this movement. But, where AOC was facing an incumbent Democrat, O’Rourke was against a Republican. In a state that has been historically Republican for fifty plus years.
This documentary chose to not only focus on the man running for office, but also all the people working to make his campaign possible in the first place. From former Republicans, to teenagers, twenty-somethings, and the elderly. Something truly unique to see in these one-off inspirational stories.
The most expected aspect of this are the topics of interest: guns and the border. The section where O’Rourke visits the border is one of the most impactful parts of the entire film. Hearing about families being separated from each other is still horrific, even months on, and the rhetoric being spewed at asylum speakers is nothing short of devastating.
Overall, this is a grim, solid companion piece to one of the most unexpected elections in modern history, right next to the 2016 presidential election.
